AN: Sorry for taking so long to post this, but I've had a lot going on in my life, and I'm just now getting back to posting. This is NOT MY STORY! You MUST note that. The author asked me to take it over, and I'm not sure if he/she has posted any more of it, but he/she asked me to do this, and now I finally am. Remember, NOT MY STORY! Stick that in your minds. Okay, it's really good, though, I read the whole thing, 'cause it was finished. It's awesome! I'll try to post the chapters quickly, but I never know… Here's the story, and sorry for the wait!

T:T:T:T

Piper played with the strings on the hood of her jacket, trying not to shiver in the cool afternoon drizzle. Slowly she pulled her hands up inside her sleeves. Her nearly frozen fingers clenched into fists as she glanced up at her grandmother. They stood under an oversized black umbrella, her family huddled together amongst the large crowd.
"Now?" Piper whispered.

"Not yet," her grandmother said quietly. Piper nodded and felt her older sister's hand fall lightly on her shoulder. Piper glanced over at Prue and saw that her eyes were glistening in the few rays of sunshine that had made their way down. But then Prue blinked and turned to watch the priest. Piper decided that she had better do the same. But he'd been talking so much. She couldn't remember what he had said. And now that she tried to listen again she was lost. Everyone else was nodding, crying, or staring at the ground. The whole thing seemed boring to Piper.

"Grams, I wanna go home." She reached up and tugged on her grandmother's jacket. Grams was usually so talkative, always playing with them. But she'd been silent for so long that day. And now she held up one finger to her lips, trying to quiet Piper. After a moment she shifted Piper's younger sister, Phoebe, from one arm to the other. Little Phoebe was sound asleep, her head resting on Grams' shoulder.

Piper bit her lip and looked back at the priest again. But finally her eyes were drawn to the long shiny box that sat right in front of her. Piper couldn't see over it, even as she balanced on her tiptoes. On the other side was a bunch of people all in black. Each had already tried to hug and kiss her, even as she'd wriggled out of their grasp. She knew that as soon as the priest stopped talking, they would try again. But she could run and hide. There were statues and big marble stones everywhere. She could crouch behind one of those and they'd never find her.

"When's Mommy coming?" Piper asked, turning back to her sister. She realized how loud her voice sounded compared to the priest's. But it hardly seemed to matter. Everyone was looking away, as if she had scared them. Piper frowned. She'd been waiting all day to see her mommy, to be held by her, to hear the story her mom had promised to read. "Prue? I want Mommy. You said she'd be here."

"I didn't say that," Prue insisted, shaking her head. Piper regarded her sister as Prue fought away tears. She twisted around, staring up at her grandmother and Piper could hear the desperation in her voice. She seemed terrified that their grandmother might not believe her. "I didn't tell her that Grams, I didn't."

Piper eyed her sister suspiciously. Something felt wrong. Prue didn't cry, not when Phoebe broke her toys, not when she got yelled at, not even when she fell down. Her mother had always said Prue was brave, which to Piper meant that her sister never, ever cried. But she was very close to crying now.

Piper's heartbeat quickened as her frustration increased. Her grandmother kept silent, refusing to tell her what she so desperately wanted to know. Piper whirled around, expecting to see her mother beneath one of the many umbrellas. Everyone that they knew was standing around them, but not her mom. She wasn't there.

"Grams, I want Mommy!" Piper said, her voice even louder this time. She noticed several people turning to stare at her, but she didn't care. They could look all they wanted. Still her grandmother seemed upset. Now even her eyes were watering.

"Piper, honey, please, shh," she said quickly. "I already told you-"

"I want her now!" Piper clenched her fists even tighter in her jacket sleeves. She could feel the back of her eyes stinging with tears. And then there was the anger, that terrible fury that they were not listening to her. Her grandmother, even her older sister, the person she trusted most in the world...

"Piper, stop it!" Prue said suddenly. Her voice broke as she glared angrily at her sister. Piper shrunk back, trying to hide behind her grandmother's legs. "Just be quiet!"

"Prudence!" Grams scolded the older girl, but her voice was gentle as she rested her hand on Prue's back. "That's enough."

"But you told her already," Prue said, her voice dropping as she pressed her lips together. Prue wasn't going to cry, so instead she turned and hid her face in her grandmother's jacket. Piper realized that the priest had stopped talking. Now everyone was watching them. "You told her about Mommy."

"Why's she not here?" Piper asked again as her voice fell to a whisper. Suddenly all of those eyes seemed to bother her. Everyone was staring at her and her family, and they all knew something that Piper did not. She waited as her grandmother passed Phoebe on to a friend. Then she reached down and picked Piper up, holding her close as the rain fell around them. Piper clung to her grandmother's neck and hugged her tightly. But Grams pulled away a little so that she was face to face with Piper. The little girl shivered as thunder crackled in the distance.

"Piper," she said slowly. "Your Mommy's not coming back. She died, honey."

Piper could see Prue's grip tighten on their grandmother's jacket, and Grams reached down again to pat her on the shoulder, trying to soothe the older girl. Piper shook her head, trying to wriggle away, to get back to the ground. Grams was lying to her. Her mother wouldn't leave her. She loved her. Piper had heard her say it a million times.

"No!" Piper said quickly. They didn't understand. "Mommy'll be back. She's just hiding, 'cause I got her mad."

"Piper, she wasn't mad at you." Grams looked surprised, but Piper nodded vigorously. They needed to know. Her mother would come back; she wasn't going to leave them. They just didn't understand yet.

"Uh-huh, I spilt the milk, 'member? I got her stuff all messy."

"Piper, no-" Grams started, but Piper pressed on.

"And I said Phoebe's stupid and made Mommy yell at me."

"But she wasn't mad at you," Grams said again as the little girl finally allowed her to speak. "She loved you, Piper." Her grandmother stopped and looked over at the long shiny box. Then she stared down at Prue who had finally pulled her face out of the jacket. "But she's gone now."

"She's gone?" Piper asked. Already she could feel those tears stinging at the back of her eyes again. She swallowed hard. She wasn't going to cry like the others. She was a big girl like Prue. That's what Mommy said. "How long?"

"Forever," Prue said. Piper could barely hear her. But she saw her sister looking up at her and Piper knew she wasn't lying. Prue didn't look like that when she was lying.

"But I don't want her gone," Piper said. She pulled away from her grandmother, kicking and pushing until Grams was finally forced to set her back down. Then suddenly the priest was standing there, holding out the rose that she'd been eyeing all morning. He nodded toward the big black box as he handed it to her.

"Go put that up there, Piper. Your Mommy will see it then."

"Michael, please..." Grams shook her head as Piper stared at the rose. She wasn't sure what to do, so she glanced over at Prue then turned back to her grandmother. There was anger in the woman's eyes as she glared at the priest. "Not now."

"Penny, she has to learn to accept-"

"She's not even five years old and her mother's just died," Grams said. Piper knew that Grams didn't want her to hear, but she listened to every word. "Give her some time."

"No!" Piper shook her head and threw the rose on the ground. She didn't want to leave it up on the box. She wanted to give it to her mommy herself, to hand it to her, and see her mommy smile at her. But that wasn't going to happen now.

Piper burst into tears and even as her grandmother reached for her, she took off across the wet grass. Many more hands grabbed at her, but Piper got away from them all, sobbing as she ran.

"Piper!" She heard Prue calling for her. But she didn't turn around. Instead she ran behind one of the huge marble stones and collapsed onto the dirt. She pulled her jacket tighter again then tried to wipe her eyes with her sleeves as the thunder rumbled overhead. She shivered as she buried her face in her hands. She wasn't going to see her mommy again. She wasn't coming back.

"Piper, don't cry."

Piper glanced up and saw Prue standing there, the rain starting to soak through her jacket. Her hood had fallen back around her neck and the water was dripping down her dark hair. Piper waited for her to say something, but Prue stayed silent as she slowly glanced around. No one else was coming. It was just the two of them.

Finally Prue sat down and put her arm around Piper, leaning back against the large piece of stone. Piper slid over towards her sister, resting her head against Prue as she made patterns in the wet dirt with her fingers. Prue looked up at the sky, squinting as the raindrops fell on her face.

"Grams says Mommy is up there watching us. She'll be sad if we cry."

"I didn't mean to make her mad, Prue," she mumbled, her voice wavering as she scratched out her drawings. "I told her sorry."

"It's not you," Prue said and Piper could see just how close to tears she really was. Prue pulled her a little bit closer as she shivered again. "She just had to go."

"But she loved us." Piper wiped her eyes again. "She said so, Mommy said so."

"Of course she did," Prue insisted. "She loved you and me and Phoebe too. But she died. She can't come back now. But she's gonna watch us from now on."

"I don't care," Piper said, staring down at the ground. This wasn't fair. She didn't believe Prue; her sister was just saying those things because Grams had made her. It was Piper's fault that her mother had left them. "I want her back... Who's gonna be our Mommy now?"

"I will," Prue said slowly, her voice shaking a little. "I'll take care of you. I'll be your Mommy now and Phoebe's too. Grams'll probably help me."

"No," Piper said. That wasn't good enough. It would never be good enough. "No, I want Mommy."

"Me too." Prue nodded pushing her hair back behind her ears. Piper bit her lip trying so hard to be strong. But then finally she gave up and fell across Prue's lap, the tears coming once more. She lay there, unable to move, to even look up. It hurt so badly. She could feel Prue's hands on her head, trying to shield Piper from the rain now that her own hood had fallen away. "I miss Mommy too."